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Monday, December 1, 2008

Pre Naxx Moonkin Gear Guide: Part 2

In Part oneI looked at the various weapons, that were available. In this post we will start to look at the armor that is available. Please look back at part one for my biases and how I build the list.

Head1. [Hat of Wintry Doom] - BoE Crafted - This is not the best head possible but I have listed it number 1 for a couple of reasons. First is that it is relatively cheap and easy to obtain since it is a BoE crafted item. Second is that it has a ton of spell hit and and an meta gem socket. Assuming that you use a [Chaotic Skyflare Diamond], this socket is worth around 30 - 40 Spell Power for beginning raiders.

2. [Battlemap Hide Helm] - Heroic Prince Keleseth - Utgarde Keep - This is a very nice helm and is fairly easy to obtain since it drops of the first boss in heroic UK. I picked up this helm because of the large amount of SP, Crit, and the Meta socket. This helm will last you into Naxx easily if you can get it to drop.

3. [Horned Helm of Varos] - Normal Varos Cloudstrider - The Oculus - This is not the best item, but it isn't a bad place to start and it shouldn't be to hard to get. It has a good amount of Spell Power and Haste and a yellow socket.

4. [Greensight Gogs] - BoE Crafted - Engineering - I strongly recommend against this head. I only mention it because I assume someone would ask about it. Even though this is an epic item it is not as good as the Battlemap Hide Helm I listed above and is much more expensive to craft.

Neck1. [Emeline's Locket] - Quest Reward - The Admiral Revealed - This is definitely not the best neck available but it is a very good one that should be simple for most people to get. It also provides a significant amount of Hit Rating if your short of the cap. This neck won't last you a long time, but it is a great place to start.

2. [Necklace of Taldaram] - Heroic Prince Taldaram - Old Kingdom - This neck is a little more DPS and a little harder to obtain than the first neck listed. This neck also has quite a bit of Hit Rating.

3. [Amulet of the Spell Flinger] - Heroic Amanitar - Old Kingdom - If your close to the hit cap then this neck provides a good amount of Crit Rating. It may be a little difficult to obtain because this not an easy boss, but then again, I didn't know anything about him when I killed him.

4. [Encircling Burnished Gold Chains] - 25 Emblem of Heroism - There are pluses and minuses to this neck. At only 25 emblem's it shouldn't be to hard to obtain, and it has a good amount of Spell Power and Hit rating on it. The down side is that it has Spirit also, and there are several better necks in 10-man raiding. However, if you have the badges there is really no reason not to spend them. In my opinion there are currently only 3 items that a moonkin would want from emblems, and in total they only cost 90 emblems. (In case your wondering the other two items are the off hand I mentioned in part one and [Plush Sash of Guzbah])

Shoulders1. [Purehorn Spaulders] - BoE Crafted - Leatherworking - I am not a leather worker or skinner but the mats for these shoulders appears to be pretty easy. These shoulders require only 30 [Nerubian Chitin] to craft. On top of that they provide 67 Spell Power and 37 haste. Those are great stats for a relatively cheap item.

2. [Dark Runic Mantle] - BoE Heroic Drop - Hall of Stone - Farming these might be a pain because they are a random mob drop, and the HoS event is quite difficult. However, If you can find them on the AH for a decent price they are the way to go, since they have the most potential Spell Power pre-raid.

3. [Spaulders of Krystallus] - Heroic Krystallus - Hall of Stone - This boss is pre-event in HoS, but you may still have a hard time finding a group. However, If you can get a shot at these shoulders these are very nice compared to a lot of what is out there.

Back1. [Dark Soldier Cape] - Rep Reward - Honored Knights of the Ebon Blade - This one follows my theme. It has a good amount of Spell Power and Hit Rating, and is extremely easy to get. There isn't much else I can say.

2. [Ancient Dragon Spirit Cape] - Heroic Eregos - The Oculus - I have not run this instance yet, but I can tell you this. Some of my guildies are not fans, so you may have a tough time finding a group. However, this is the best back you can get pre-raid that won't cost you a ton of gold.

3. [Deathchill Cloak] - BoE crafted - Tailoring - In pure DPS terms this is one of the best cloaks currently available in game. There are only one or two better from raiding. However, it has two down sides. The first is the lack of base stats. Generally this isn't a huge deal, but you may end up missing them, because having enough HP and Mana are bigger issues in early raiding. Second is the cost. This pattern requires 10 Eternals, a [Siren's Tear], and a [Frozen Orb] to craft, and that doesn't include the cloth and dust needed. If you have the time or gold to get this made then go for it, but I wouldn't blame anyone for holding off on it for a little bit.

That's it for Part 2. I should have part 3 our in the next few days, and it will go over Chest, Wrists, Hands, and Rings.

7 comments:

As a new moonkin (played feral forever and resto a bit) I'm really enjoying your blog, especially the Naxx-prep. I prefer your bias towards easy to get items as I consider myself more of a casual player and don't have tons of time to grind out mats/badges/etc. Looking forward to the next installment.

Thanks so much for these posts. I found the idea of hitting the hit cap completely overwhelming once I managed to make 80 and looked at what was expected. I was so frustrated! But as of tonight, and a lucky drop of the Mark of the War Prisoner, my hit is solidly at 270, so I finally have room to breathe and play around to make the perfect balance. I did get the Sash of the Wizened Wyrm which is available from wyrmrest at honored. It's not incredible by any means and is cloth, but if you're hurting for hit, +40 hit from it doesn't suck. It also has a decent amount of intellect, stamina, and spellpower. If you have a blacksmith friend, the addition of a gem slot is also invaluable. I used it until I got hit capped in other ways and was able to go back to using my Ourobourus belt.

I also managed to catch the cheaper shoulders on the AH and the helm of varos. All of which make me feel a little less useless in heroics.